Maricopa County’s Confounding Two-Page Ballot Sparks Concerns and Future Challenges

In Maricopa County, Arizona, the rollout of early voting has faced hurdles, primarily due to an unexpectedly lengthy ballot that has drawn scrutiny and complaints. This year, voters are contending with an average of 79 contests, compelling officials to print ballots on two sheets of paper for the first time in nearly 20 years.

As early voting commenced, some delays became apparent, including slow mail ballot deliveries. This issue emerged as the local postal service began processing the 1.9 million ballots, each encased in bulkier envelopes due to the added paper. County spokesperson Sierra Ciaramella highlighted that these changes reduced the number of ballots that mail carriers could deliver in a single trip. U.S. Postal Service spokesperson John Hyatt acknowledged the situation, noting that the delays typically did not exceed one day, although many voters reported longer waiting times.

The Election Protection hotline saw a significant uptick in inquiries, with 133 calls concerning ballot whereabouts, leaving many voters frustrated. This heightened concern was fueled further by additional delays once ballots were returned. Workers faced challenges in verifying voter signatures and processing envelopes, necessitating extra help from outside the elections department to expedite operations.

In response, Maricopa County has ramped up its staffing and resources, increasing the number of vote centers from an initial plan of 230 to 246, to accommodate anticipated lines. Despite these preparations, Republicans, including GOP candidate Abe Hamadeh, accused the county of insufficient planning, arguing that long ballot lengths could lead to significant wait times that may disenfranchise voters.

Hamadeh and attorney Harmeet Dhillon called for an emergency meeting to address these concerns, suggesting that more tabulation equipment and educational efforts were necessary. County officials, however, rebuffed the request, citing already implemented measures, including increases in equipment and manpower.

Issues surrounding ballot tracking have also stirred concern. Some voters may opt to return only one page of the ballot, complicating the reconciliation of total ballots cast versus voters. Election Director Scott Jarrett confirmed that there is no stipulation requiring both pages to be returned, and efforts are in place to advise voters accordingly.

Officials emphasized that they anticipated the current election environment would see a doubling of paper output compared to previous years. Maricopa County’s elections spokesperson, Jennifer Liewer, reassured the public about the preparations made to handle this increased volume while maintaining the integrity of the voting process.